Three-day jazz journey to bring joy to Joburg

27 September 2017

 

For the next three nights, the streets of Sandton will be gridlocked as hundreds of jazz lovers and fusion fanatics make their way to the Convention Centre for the 20th Standard Bank Joy of Jazz event.

 

Starting tomorrow on Thursday night and spreading over four stages, Dinaledi, Conga, Mbira and Diphala, the City of Joburg-supported musical event will showcase 40 home-grown and international stars who are set to leave revellers bobbing to the beats and begging for more.

City of Johannesburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development, Cllr Nonhlanhla Sifumba, has urged residents to put on their dancing shoes for the three-night party.

“The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz has grown from strength to the strength in the past two decades. Through this international event, we’ve been able to put Joburg on the map as the capital city of fun. So I’m encouraging everyone to come and enjoy the musical extravaganza,” says MMC Sifumba.

Some of the artists set to enthrall the audience and keep them under their musical spell is Lesotho-born Tshepo Tshola, whose talent has been used far and wide, from the jazz genre to the uplifting sounds of gospel.

Another performer to watch out for is Christian McBride, who is a five-time Grammy Award-winning bassist. Since the early 1990s, he has recorded more than 300 performances as a sideman and released albums as a leader since 1995. Some of the cats he’s jammed with include Sting, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny and Roy Haynes. 
Hailing from Atteridgeville and now currently based in Europe, Tutu Puoane is going to mesmerise jazz lovers with her distinct and seductive voice. Puoane, who has won two SA Music Awards, is a skilled and experienced singer and performer, having gained respect from musicians and audiences alike. One of Europe’s best big bands, the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, invited her to work with them, resulting in an album celebrating the late Miriam Makeba, which scooped a Sama award in 2011.

So hurry. Get your three-day visa from your significant other or bring them along on a magical ride into the undulating joys of jazz in the heart of the City of Joburg.